EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- When the Houston Rockets
acquired Scottie Pippen, they knew they were getting one of the
best all-around players in NBA history. As a bonus, they also
acquired his reputation.

Pippen was the beneficiary of a very questionable call and made
a free throw with 3.3 seconds left in overtime, giving the
Rockets a 93-92 victory over the slumping New Jersey Nets.

With the game tied, Pippen came above the 3-point circle to
receive a pass, which Nets forward Scott Burrell denied. The
former Chicago Bulls teammates made incidental contact with
their feet and Pippen fell as Hakeem Olajuwon's pass went out of
bounds. But referee Marc Davis whistled Burrell for a foul,
sending Pippen to the line.

"It was a foul," Pippen said. "I was tripped. It was obvious.
He tried to overplay me and he tripped me, just like he used to
do in practice."

Pippen gave his explanation in front of Burrell, who had come in
to the visitors' locker room and watched with a puzzled look.
Earlier, he gave his own take on the pivotal play.

"He falls down, the ball goes out of bounds," Burrell said.
"Incidental contact is what won the game for them. It's a young
referee making a call for a veteran."

Pippen made the first free throw and missed the second, giving
the Nets one more chance. Keith Van Horn, whose 3-pointer was
blocked by Pippen at the end of regulation, had another shot
blocked by Othella Harrington as time expired.

Pippen scored 18 of his 26 points after halftime for Houston,
which erased a 13-point second-quarter deficit and beat New
Jersey for the 14th time in the last 17 meetings.

Hakeem Olajuwon added 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Rockets.
After a mostly quiet second half, he sank a tying jumper with
4.4 seconds left in regulation and scored five points in
overtime.

"It was a gift," admitted Olajuwon, whose teammates were joking
about the finish in the locker room.

"It was a crazy, hard-fought game that could have gone either
way," Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "I'm just glad the
buzzer went off and we were ahead."

Kendall Gill scored 24 points and Kerry Kittles added 18 for the
Nets, who lost for the fourth time in five games and are off to
a 2-5 start, their worst in five seasons.

"That's a tough one to swallow," Nets coach John Calipari said.
"I thought we did some good stuff, but not enough to win the
game. I know you want me to say, 'This call, that call, this
call,' but we shouldn't have been there in the first place."

The Nets appeared to have taken the lead on a tip-in by Jayson
Williams with 6.6 seconds left. But referee Scott Foster waved
off the basket with an offensive goaltending call.

Earlier, the Rockets had taken a 92-90 lead on a pair of free
throws by Olajuwon with 53 seconds left, the result of what
looked like another phantom call against New Jersey guard Eric
Murdock.

"When you've got guys battling, you don't let the referees
decide the game," said Gill, who aggravated his sprained left
ankle late in the second quarter but remained in the game. "Two
of the top 50 players (of all time) got fouls at the end of a
game. I wish I had it like that."

Pippen scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including a long
corner jumper that gave Houston an 81-80 lead with 3:28 left.
Van Horn answered with a hook and Gill drove for a layup to give
the Nets an 84-81 advantage with 2:35 to go.

Harrington made two free throws after grabbing an offensive
rebound with 1:59 remaining, but Olajuwon lost the ball out of
bounds and Pippen shot an airball on consecutive possessions.
The Nets had a chance to seal it, but Murdock made just 1-of-2
from the line with 12 seconds left.

On the next possession, Olajuwon seemed surprised to receive a
pass but calmly nailed a 16-footer -- his only basket of the
period -- to tie the game.

"When I caught the ball, I saw Scottie cutting through and I
held it for a few seconds," Olajuwon said. "You're forced to
make a move."

Rookie Michael Dickerson scored 14 points and Harrington added
12 and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, who shot 38 percent
(36-of-94) from the field but compensated with a 57-39
rebounding advantage.

Playing its third game in three nights, Houston started slowly.
New Jersey opened a 10-point lead in the first quarter and
settled for a 26-17 advantage behind six points apiece from Gill
and Williams.

Consecutive baskets by Gill gave the Nets their largest lead at
32-19 with 9:39 left in the second quarter. The Rockets closed
to 48-41 at halftime and within 52-51 on a jumper by Pippen with
7:26 left in the third quarter.

"I thought we were losing some momentum," Pippen said. "Going
into the second half, I wanted to have the ball in my hands."

Kittles made a jumper and 3-pointer to start a run of seven
straight New Jersey points and a jumper by Burrell gave the Nets
a 59-51 lead midway through the period.

Led by Pippen, the Rockets tied it twice but did not take their
first lead until Dickerson drove for a basket and a 75-74 edge
with 7:15 left in the fourth quarter. Neither team led by more
than three points thereafter.